Device for filling containers of semi-rigid or soft material such as plastic bottles



A. Dl SETTEMBRINI ING June 17, 1969 3,450,172 soFT Sheet of 5 Filed NOV. 8, 1966 i: L L M. 4 y L 5 June 17, 1969 A. DI SETTEMBRINI 3,450,172 DEVICE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS OF SEMI-RIGID 0R SOFT MATERIAL SUCH AS PLASTIC BOTTLES Filed Nov. s, 196e sheet Z af 5 Fig2.

3,450,172v SOFT June 17, 1969 A. nl SETTEMBRINI DEVICE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS OF SEMI-RIGID OR MATERIAL SUCH AS PLASTIC BOTTLES Filed NOV. 8. 1968 Sheet June 17, 1969 A. D1 sETTMBRlNl 3,450,172

. DEVICE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS OF SEMI-RIGID OR SOFT MATERIAL SUCH AS PLASTIC BOTTLES Flled Nov s. 196e sheet 4 of 5 June 17 1969 A. DI sETTL-tMlaRlNl 3,450,172

DEVICE FOR FILLING CONTAINERS OF SEMI-RIGID 0R SOFT MATER oTTLEs IAL SUCH AS PLASTIC B Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 8. 1966 United States Patent U.S. Cl. 141--59 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Device for filling containers of soft or semi-rigid material such as plastic bottles with a foaming liquid, which comprises a suction pipe open at either end and extending through each filling nozzle and opening at its lower end into the container being lled, and `at its upper end above the level of the liquid contained in a cistern. A filter pump carried by said cistern, at the upper part thereof, communicates with the interior of said cistern and with a source of compressed air through a. valve controlled by a programming unit. Said unit opens the valve for creating a partial vacuum in said cistern only at the end of the filling cycle, that is when the container is lled sufiiciently, during a time interval suflicient to permit the suction through said suction pipe of the foam produced in the container during the filling thereof.

The present invention relates toa device for filling at a fixed level containers of semi-rigid or soft material, such as plastic bottles, with a liquid having a marked tendency to foam, ya specific object of the invention consisting in reducing the amount of foam produced when :filling bottles of this character.

Many systems have already been proposed for filling bottles with foaming liquids, wherein the foam formation is avoided by creating a partial vacuum in the bottle or by pumping out the excess foam. These systems are applicable only with bottles having a certain rigidity and therefore capable of withstanding a certain external pressure when the partial vacuum is created within the bottle.

This invention is concerned with the adaptation of this method of filling containers of semi-rigid or soft material with a view to avoid the collapse of the containers under the differential pressure created when vacuumizing the inner space of the container while preserving the necessary fluid-tightness during the inflow.

According to a specific form of embodiment of this invention, the device for filling containers of soft or semirigid material, such as plastic bottles, with a foaming liquid, |which comprises a constant-level cistern containing the liquid and having mounted at its lower portion one or a plurality of lling nozzles having their ends closed by valve members, is characterized in that each filling nozzle has fitted therethrough :a suction pipe open at either ends, the lower end of said pipe being introduced into each bottle to be filled by means of said filling nozzle, the upper end of said pipe emerging above the liquid level in the cistern, and that a fluid-actuated system is provided for creating vacuum in said cistern at the end of the filling cycle, that is, when the bottle is filled sufliciently to withstand the compressive force exerted thereon by the atmospheric pressure, said vacuum being applied during a time period sullicient to suck up through said pipe the foam produced in said bottle during the filling phase.

In this device the pressure exerted by the Valve member closing the lower end of the filling nozzle on the neck 3,450,172 Patented June 17, 1969 of the bottle being filled is selected to be sullicient to seal the joint between this valve vmember and the bottleneck without however squeezing the bottle of soft or semi-rigid plastic material. By way of example, the Weight of the valve member is of the order of one to two pounds in the case of polyethylene bottles.

The device according to this invention is advantageous in that it minimizes the amount of foam left in each bottle removed from the bottle-filling machine and to warrant the presence of unvariable metered amounts of liquid in each bottle. V

In order to afford -a clearer understanding of this invention and of the manner in which the same may be carried out in practice, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which a typical form of embodiment of a device constructed according to the teachings of this invention is illustrated diagrammatically, by way of example.

-In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective and part-sectional view showing the bottle-filling device according to this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal axial section showing on a larger scale a filling nozzle of the device of FIGURE l;

FIGURES 3 to 8- inclusive are diagrammatic perspective views showing the various stages of a iilling cycle.

The filling device illustrated in FIGURE l comprises a constant-level cistern 1 containing a mass of foaming liquid 2 delivered thereto through a feed pipe line 3 under the control of a front 10. This constant-level cistern 1 is an integral part of a ybottle-filling machine (not shown) and is vertically ymovable on a support (not shown) under the control of a pneumatic piston-cylinder unit 4.

The constant-level cistern 1 carries at its lower portion a plurality of filling nozzles 5 of which only one is illustrated in FIGURE l. Each filling nozzle 5 is adapted to be introduced, during the downward stroke of the constant-level cistern 1, into the neck of a bottle 6 of soft or semi-rigid material, designated diagrammatically in chain-dotted lines in FIGURE l. The filling nozzle 5 is introduced into the neck to an extent sufficient to create, at the end of the filling operation proper, a counter-pressure adapted to stop the filling process and therefore regulate the liquid level in the bottle; this overpressure is also advantageous in that the subsequent suction phase applies to the foam alone, not to the liquid in the bottle.

Each filling nozzle 5 has mounted coaxially thereto a vertical central pipe 7 having an outdlared lower end adapted to constitute the seat 7a of a valve member 8. The upper end 7b of this pipe 7 emerges above the level of the liquid contained in the constant-level cistern. The valve member 8 consists of a socket carrying a resilient ring 9 constantly engaging a flange 11 of said valve member and adapted to be brought into fluid-tight engagement with the top edge of the neck of a bottle 6 to be filled during the downward stroke of the constant-level cistern 1, in order to seal the bottle during the filling operation. The valve member 8 -has an upper extension above the flange 11 which consists of a sleeve 12 slidably fitted on a tubular lower extension 13 of a strainer 14 secured to the bottom 1a of the constant-level cistern by means of a nut 15. The upper edge of sleeve 12 carries a gasket 16 engaged by an internal flange 17a of an externally-threaded socket 17 engaged by a relatively heavy cylindrical nut 18. The weight of this cylindrical nut 18 is selected to exert on the valve member `8 a pressure sucient to keep this member normally closed on its seat 7a and thus seal the fluid outlet in the closed position. The total pressure exerted by the valve member 8 and cylindrical nut 1'8 is balanced by the compressive resistance of the bottle i6 of semi-rigid or soft material. For example, the force exerted by this assembly on the top 3 of the bottle may be of the order of l to 2 lbs. in the case of polyethylene bottles.

The central pipe 7 is supported by a pair of radial pins or studs 7c (see FIGURE 2) engaged in diametrally opposite notches formed in the upper portion of a straplike upper extension 14a of strainer 14 receiving the pipe 7 therethrough.

Mounted on the cover 1b of the constant-level cistern 1 is a vacuum or ilter pump 19 having its ejector 19a connected through a pipe line 21 and a valve 22 to a source of compressed air 23. This source 23 of compressed air is also connected through a distributor valve 24 and pipe lines 25 and 26 to the pneumatic piston-andcylinder unit 4 controlling the vertical movement of the constant-level cistern 1. The pneumatic valves 22 and 24 are actuated respectively by means of rotary cams 27 and 28 of a suitable programming unit (not shown).

After the bottles 6 have been brought and stopped in the filling position (see FIGURE 5) the cam 28 sets the pneumatic distributor valve 24 in its working position to control the downward movement of the cistern 1. At a certain point of this downward movement the resilient ring 9 engages the edge of the neck of bottle 6, thus sealing the latter; from this moment on the valve member -8 is held against motion but the central pipe 7 continues its downward -movement in the cistern 1. As a result, the outlet orifice formed between the lower edge of valve member 8 and the seat 7a thereof is opened. The height of this orice, that is, the opening stroke of valve member 8, is dependent on the desired output rate. The liquid in cistern 1 will thus ow into the bottle and produce foam as a function of its speciic nature, the air expelled from the bottle by the incoming liquid being discharged in the form of bubbles rising externally of the pipe 7. However, a certain quantity of air is trapped between the bottleneck and the illing nozzle 5 so as to create a certain counter-pressure and interrupt the incoming flow of liquid when this counter-pressure is capable of balancing the liquid pressure.

At the end of this lling period (see FIGURE 6) the other cam 27 opens the pneumatic distributor valve 22 whereby the vacuum or filter pump 19 produces a certain vacuum within the cistern 1. This vacuum corresponds to the counter-pressure of the aforesaid air voulme so that -any supernatant foam is readily sucked up. Thus, a constant liquid level is obtained in all the containers. This vacuum is created only when the bottles 6 `are illed suiciently to prevent them from collapsing under the external atmospheric pressure, and it is transmitted to the inside of each bottle through the central pipe 7, whereby the foam produced during the lling operation is sucked up through this pipe 7 and recovered in the cistern 1.

The end of the cycle of operation is attended by the return of the pneumatic distributor valve 24 to its inoperative position under the control of the irst cam 28, whereby the cistern 1 (FIGURE 7) is caused to move upwards and the outlet orifice is closed by valve member 8 urged against its seat 7a by the weight of the movable parts, notably the weight of the cylindrical nut 18. The downstream retaining plate 33 as well as the transverse plates 34 are withdrawn to permit the removal of the filled 4 bottles (FIGURE 8). Then the downstream retaining plate 33 is restored across the bottle path 4and the device is ready for another iilling cycle.

The cam 27 controls the closing of the pneumatic distrbutor valve 22, thus removing the vacuum in cistern 1 only when fresh empty bottles are present beneath the iilling nozzles 5. Therefore, the vacuum in cistern 1 is maintained throughout the time period elapsing from the removal of the filled bottles and the arrival of fresh empty bottles, thus avoiding the spilling of liquid drops from the illing nozzles S during the shifting time.

Of course, the specific form of embodiment described hereinabove with reference to the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention; it is given by way of illustration only and liable to many modifications and variations without departing from the basic principles of the invention.

More particularly, the device described is a discontinuous device requiring the stoppage of the containers during the filling operations. A continuous device may be contemplated within the scope of the present invention, wherein a plurality of constant-level cisterns would be movable both vertically and bodily with the line of bottles.

What I claim is:

1. Device for iilling containers of soft or semi-rigid material such as plastic bottles with a foaming liquid, which comprises a constant-level cistern containing the liquid, at least one lling nozzle mounted on the lower portion of said cistern and communicating with the inside thereof, a valve member movably mounted on each illing nozzle, a suction pipe open at either end of extending through each rlilling nozzle and each valve member and opening at its lower end into the container being lled, and at its upper end above the level of the liquid contained in said cistern, a vacuum pump carried by said cistern, at the upper part thereof, and communicating with the interior of said cistern, a source of compressed air, a pipe line connecting said source of compressed air to said pump, valve means inserted in pipe line, and a programming means opening said valve means for creating a partial vacuum in said cistern only at the end of the iilling cycle, that is when the container is lled sufficiently, during a time interval sufficient t-o permit the suction through said suction pipe of the foam produced in the container during the filling thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,349,780 5/1944 Weinreich et al. 141-69 X 3,097,671 7/1963 Bonetti et al 141-116 3,324,904 6/1967 Crothers 141-115 X FOREIGN PATENTS 478,667 l/l938 Great Britain. 540,305 V10/ 1941 Great Britain.

LAVERNE D. GEfIGER, Primary Examiner.

E. I. EARLS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. C1. X.R. 

